An Android device around the world has been infected by a new malware called CopyCat. The malware has hijacked apps and rooted phones to make millions in fraudulent ad revenue.
A team of researchers at Check Point revealed on Thursday that the malware has affected more than 14 million devices.
Asia has the highest number of victims, while in the US more than 280,000 Android devices were hit by the attack.
However, Google had been trying to track the malware for the last two years and has updated Play Protect to block CopyCat, but still millions of people are becoming victims through third-party app downloads and phishing attacks.
According to Check Point, there was no evidence that CopyCat was available on Google Play.
"Play Protect secures users from the family, and any apps that may have been infected with CopyCat were not distributed via Play," Google said in a statement.
The malware downloads fake apps, and then it hijack device's Zygote, the launcher for every app on your phone. If you have control of the Zygote, then a hacker could easily get to know every new app that you've downloaded, as well as every app that you open.
CopyCat replaces the Referrer ID on your apps with its own, after which every ad that shows up on the app would send revenue to the hackers instead of the app's creators.
Google has clarified that even older devices are protected from CopyCat by using Play Protect. And everyone should download it as soon as possible to avoid this malware.
A team of researchers at Check Point revealed on Thursday that the malware has affected more than 14 million devices.
Asia has the highest number of victims, while in the US more than 280,000 Android devices were hit by the attack.
However, Google had been trying to track the malware for the last two years and has updated Play Protect to block CopyCat, but still millions of people are becoming victims through third-party app downloads and phishing attacks.
According to Check Point, there was no evidence that CopyCat was available on Google Play.
"Play Protect secures users from the family, and any apps that may have been infected with CopyCat were not distributed via Play," Google said in a statement.
The malware downloads fake apps, and then it hijack device's Zygote, the launcher for every app on your phone. If you have control of the Zygote, then a hacker could easily get to know every new app that you've downloaded, as well as every app that you open.
CopyCat replaces the Referrer ID on your apps with its own, after which every ad that shows up on the app would send revenue to the hackers instead of the app's creators.
Google has clarified that even older devices are protected from CopyCat by using Play Protect. And everyone should download it as soon as possible to avoid this malware.